White Paper

SAP has implemented enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in both the commercial and public sector for more than 30 years. From these experiences, four important principles stand out, as follows:

Successful implementations start and end with
the involvement and contribution of senior
executive leadership, providing the governance
and management necessary to achieve
organizational buy-in throughout the process
and ensure that goals are achieved.

Implementation has a life cycle, with some of
the most important phases at the start -
requirements gathering, business case
development, and solution design. The business
case quantifies the desired process
improvements and provides the organization
with the goals necessary to carry it through the
rough times.

Implementation programs with the set goal of
"replacing systems" - without mentioning
process improvement - are doomed to failure.

Best practice indicates that a successful
implementation can, in fact, force an organization
to reevaluate its business practices and processes,
focus on clearly defined goals and objectives, create
a higher understanding of the need for data
accuracy, emphasize time-phased material planning,
and enable a more effective data-sharing
environment. However, such high-level benefits
require a new approach to project implementation,
one that applies the lessons of the past to reinvent
the systems of the future.

The following point of view draws lessons about what has been done well, what has yet to be done well, best practices from large commercial company implementations, and best practices for the governance of implementations that achieve the results and benefits foreseen.